HIV screening is still too late in France. In 2017, 49% of HIV findings were in people who had never been tested before. And it’s not just about young people.
Despite a significant increase in screening, with 5.6 million HIV serologies performed in 2017, more than a quarter of HIV-positive discoveries are still too late.
28% of people have been diagnosed this year at an advanced stage of the infection, and half of HIV findings (49%) have been among people who say they have never been tested before, according to the last BEH. In populations at risk, namely gays and heterosexuals born abroad, this proportion is 22% and 62% respectively.
“HIV screening must be further intensified”
In addition to prevention, “HIV screening must therefore be further intensified in the most exposed populations, in order to reduce the proportion of those who are unaware of their HIV status to enable them to benefit from antiretroviral treatment”, explains Public Health. France.
The number of discoveries of HIV seropositivity had been estimated at around 6,000 in 2016, a decrease of 5% compared to 2013 (this number could not yet be estimated for the year 2017). Men who have sex with men and foreign-born heterosexuals (3⁄4 of whom were born in a country in sub-Saharan Africa) remain the two most affected groups and account for 45% and 38% of positive diagnoses respectively. in 2017-2018. Heterosexuals born in France and injection drug users represent 15% and 1% respectively.
People over 49
These proportions have been stable since 2015, except for people over 49. In 2016, the number of seniors who discovered their HIV status was estimated at 1,200, or 20% of all discoveries – figures that are increasing.
In 2017, 5.6 million HIV serologies were carried out by medical biology laboratories (city or hospital), a number never reached since the beginning of the 2000s. This number increased by +6.4% compared to 2014 , more particularly in the overseas departments (+10.4%) than in mainland France (+6.2%). In 2017, the regions where HIV testing activity was the highest were French Guiana (231 serologies/1,000 inhabitants), Guadeloupe (170), Martinique (150), Mayotte (130), then Ile -de-France (115), Réunion (108) and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (104).
153,000 people live with HIV in France
The number of HIV self-tests sold in pharmacies in 2017, without knowing the population using them, is around 73,000, a number comparable to that of 2016 (74,650). It is estimated that 153,000 people are living with HIV in France.
HIV screening “must also be coupled with that of other sexually transmitted infections (STIs)”, specifies the public health agency. In 2016, approximately 270,000 Chlamydia infections and 50,000 gonococcal infections were diagnosed, figures which continue to increase in 2017. 
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